It’s been a while, guys. Life with three tiny ones is busy. But also the best. It’s crazy to think Shay is now 9 months old. I feel like I was just writing his birth story. Seriously – time goes by SO fast when you have kids. I’m sure all parents can relate! I wanted to share what our littlest has been up to, as well as a basic schedule of how we spend our days.

Shay Boy Happenings

• Officially eating table food. He’ll still have formula until he’s one, but we’ve tossed the baby food and he’s been chowing down on everything his brothers eat – with the exception of a few healthier choices. It’s so nice when they’re young enough to think everything you put in front of them is delicious, hah. His favorite though… rotisserie chicken. The boy has one (to himself) a week. Nate likes to remind me often that our grocery budget is going to triple when they’re teenagers. Jesus take the wheel.
• Rolling all over the place and pushing up on his arms, but still isn’t interested in crawling. He just wants to stand – he’ll hold himself up against our living room ottoman for long periods of time.
• Sitting up unassisted but he’ll still topple back every now and then. The large Lehmann head is no joke.
• Laughing and loving on his brothers like crazy. He is mesmerized by everything they do. He is constantly staring at them with his sweet little two-teeth grin.
• Sleeping ~12 hours a night and taking 2 naps a day (~1 to 2 hours each). You can read about how we sleep train our boys here!
• Loves his Joovy Walker. It’s one of our holy grails. His brothers like to push him into walls while he’s in it (SOS) but he can maneuver it really well. I love the flat tray feature – great for toys.
• Favorite hobby? Patting the bench at our kitchen table. He’ll roll on over in his walker and it hits at the perfect height to where he can just pat away. The patting phase and grab my toesies phase are some of my absolute favorites. 
• Currently wearing 12 month clothes, although some 18 month stuff fits.
• Loves playing with toys that have tags. We were gifted a little tag blanket when Drake was a baby – he and Ford were never into it, but Shay is a huge fan. He will find a tag on anything and start playing with it. He also loves finding the folds in my clothes when I’m feeding him and he’ll play with them – one of those special little things I know I’ll always want to remember him doing.
• He recognizes his name and knows who we all are. He’ll look at Drake, Ford, Daddy, and Mommy when we ask where everyone is.
• Enjoys reading books but prefers songs and music. Whenever we sing or play anything on Alexa he starts smiling and bouncing around.
• Loves bath time.

Nate and I really lucked out with Shay – he’s a dream. Seriously so easy and sweet. Always smiling and happy. The only time he fusses is when he’s ready to eat or needs to sleep. 

Each of our kids have been so different. It’s so cool to see them grow into their personalities and become their own people. We often talk about what we think Shay will be like because our other two are very much mirroring who they were as tiny babies. Our parents have both said the same thing about us. Too funny.

Day in the Life with Three Under Four:

I remember being pregnant with Shay and thinking, “How do people spend their days when they’re home with so many little kids?” Even now, I love talking with other moms about their typical schedules. It’s so nice to hear what they do and get different ideas.

6 AM: Drake is up to go potty. He just recently started going to the bathroom entirely by himself at night/early in the morning – a heavy reminder that he’s going to be 4 in a couple months and is really a little boy now. Ugh 🙁 He’ll usually go back in his room and read until his Hatch night light comes on. We kind of use it as a toddler alarm clock. You can read about how we taught him how to use the Hatch in this post. It also acts as his sound machine and has really fun night light settings. We have high hopes to teach Ford how to use one as well – pray for us.

6:30: Everyone is up. They take a couple minutes to require my attention (lol) so I’ll let them wake up for a bit while I finish getting ready. At this point I’ve hopped in the shower and am dressed.

6:45: We’re downstairs for the day and the demands have started. Diaper changes for the younger 2 and breakfast for all. I’ll get the older two situated and Shay will have a bottle, followed by breakfast.

7:15: I listen to The Mix every morning (awesome Chicago morning show – anyone who lives in the area knows!) – so that will be playing on Alexa while the boys are either destroying the playroom, dismantling the couch and beating each other up, or watching TV. It really just depends on the morning. At this time I’m taking my first sip of warm coffee (won’t have another for at least 45 min so I savor it) and throwing some makeup on.

7:50: The boys get dressed for the day. I like to get them ready once we’re done with breakfast and dishes are in the sink – we’ve gone through multiple outfits in the morning if I don’t clear the table fast enough and one of them decides to go back and cover themselves in syrup. At this point it’s time for another round of diaper changes, getting teeth brushed, doing their hair, and wrestling them to extract the large boogers from their noses. I’ll then lather their faces in lotion and BOOM – looks like we actually have our shit together. It’s an illusion. 🙂 

8:20: We’ll start to get ready to load up for school. Drake goes on Tuesday and Thursdays, Ford goes Wednesdays and Fridays. 

While one of them is at school, we’re generally running errands, going to appointments (I schedule all doctor appointments at this time), or we’re back home to get some stuff done. Shay will take his first nap around 9 whether we’re running around or he’s in his crib.

Depending on the day, I’m either doing some one-on-one learning games with them (#TeacherForever) or they’re playing/destroying the house while I’m taking care of some home maintenance. Sometimes I’ll be prepping for a cookie order. I started decorating cookies this summer for friends and family – it’s quickly become my favorite hobby. I’ll attach a picture of the boys’ Valentine treats they brought to school.

This time slot goes by quickly so it’s nice to make good use of it. When it gets warmer I’m sure we’ll be outside during this chunk. Bring on Spring!

12:15ish: Back home for lunch 

1 pm: Naptime for Ford and Shay, Quiet Time for Drake. Sometimes if he’s exhausted he’ll sleep, but we’re usually hanging out or he’s playing/watching something on Disney+. We’re big fans of the Pixar short films.

2:30: All 3 are up and ready to attack. Usually at this time we’ll be in the basement. Ours is unfinished (and a hot mess) but we have a few toys down there that they love. The bounce house and roller coaster ride on are two favorites. So nice for winter months!

If it’s nice out, we’ll be outside. Sometimes we’ll go to the library or have a playdate. Again, it all depends. But our 2:30-4:30 time slot is typically all about playtime and snacks. So many damn snacks all the time (although… I can relate). 

4:45: Start to think about dinner. I’ll usually put a movie on for them while I’m cooking. They eat a different meal than Nate and I do (hoping we can eventually broaden their palettes before they’re out of the house – we’ll see) so it’s usually something simple and picky-eater-approved. 

5:45: Dinner for the boys and play-by-play phone call with Nate while he drives home. 

6:15ish: TV is off and Alexa is on. There is something about having the TV off while straightening up that I love – is anyone else with me? I’d rather be jamming… maybe it just motivates me more. But the boys are ready to play and wrestle at this point because Nate is usually getting home.

They’ll hang out while I cook our dinner/straighten up. Some nights we flip flop and he’ll cook while I straighten up (or sit on the couch and watch Real Housewives) and the boys play. Other nights involve an early bedtime and pizza delivery for us once they’re down. All depends on the flow of the day. 🙂

7 pm: Bath time. One of us will bathe Drake and Ford while the other one takes care of house stuff – cleaning up the kitchen, laundry, playroom pick up. Shay hangs out upstairs during this time so it really gives the one (who is cleaning) time to knock it out. When the older 2 are done, they’ll cuddle up in our bed and watch an episode of something while Shay gets his bath. After he’s in PJs and his sleep sack (we love this one), one of us will give him his bottle and rock him in his room. The other one will start to put Ford down – he requires at least 4 books before bed so his routine is a little longer. The one who put Shay down will typically then put Drake down after a few books. All in all – lots of teamwork is involved in our bedtime routine.